Barrel lock



Dec. 4, 1956 B. NICKEL ETAL 2,772,556 A BARREL Locx Filed Feb. 18, 1952 H b a INVENTOR` BY I W, 8*""7 V @n ATTORNEY;

United States Patent O BARREL LOCK Bernhard Nickel, Marburg (Lahn), and Emst Rhl, Ruttershausen, Germany Application February 18, 1952, Serial No. 272,002

Claims priority, application Germany February 17, 1951 4 Claims. (Cl. 70-358) The present invention relates to a barrel lock having two rotatable cylinders fitted within each other and interlocked by pins lying in a row one after the other in one or several radial planes, and whose locking can be cancelled by inserting a key into the inner cylinder (or tumbler) and thus moving the spring-biased two-part locking pins so far as to cause their separating place to coincide with the contact supercies common to the two cylinders. The locking means being of different lengths, they must consequently be moved by different extents to cancel the locking, and for this reason the proper at or cross-keys have a corresponding series of teeth on the control edges. These locks permit a plurality of pin combinations, but involve the drawback that the pin positions may be determined comparatively easily by feeling about in the keyhole or slit, when a false key is used, and these locks can also be opened without a key simply by inserting some auxiliary means therein. False keys may also be procured from 'any ironmonger from the original key or by sta-ting the series number punched on every key. y

The present invention now relates to a new form of barrel lock whose opening for the key, as removed, eX- hibits an absolutely smooth and closed wall, together with a corresponding design of the key, so that any feeling about or otherwise opening of the lock by'alien auxiliary means is impossible. Moreover, since the key, as withdrawn, is also completely smooth in appearance corresponding to the keyhole in the lock, the making of a false key is also precluded.

According to the invention, in the case of a barrel lock consisting of two cylinders relatively rotatable and arranged one within the other with bipartite locking pins located in rows in several radial planes and capable of being moved with their separating spaces towards the contact superficies common to the two cylinders upon insertion of a key into the slit of the inner cylinder, said locking pins when in the normal (locking) condition are held so as to terminate with the wall of the key guiding, while the key includes a sleeve fitting into the key guide and provided with radially movable control pins arranged to correspond with the position of the locking pins, and takes-axially movable-a cam-bar adapted to influence said control pins. By reference, the key guide is made as a circular hole or bore, and the sleeve receiving the control pins is taken by a handle piece of the key carrying the cam-bar and held by a spring in the normal position. The cam-bar is so designed that, when at rest, the control pins are flush with the outer surface of the sleeve and, on moving the control rod in the sleeve, are pushed out so far that the locking pins inuenced by them are pushed exactly into the position to the lock. The sleeve and the handle piece of the key are each preferably provided with a nose corresponding respectively with a recess on the front face of the inner cylinder and an annular groove, accessible through a groove, on the outer cylinder, to ensure the control pins coming into a position to match with the locking pins Cil 2,772,556 Patented Dec. 4, 1956 upon insertion of the key. Saidnoses at the same time form limiting and coupling stops for the key.

The key guide in the inner cylinder and the sleeve of the key insertable thereinto have consequently, when at normal, a fully continuous wall, so that the dividing of the locking pins and of the cam-bar of the key is not recognizable from outside. Apart from the fact that the position of the locking pins in the key guide can hardly be felt on the smooth wall, even its determining and the pressing in of the locking members, perhaps possible, lead to no result, since the pressed-in position of the locking pins does not necessarily correspond with the disengaging position. The circular shape of the key guide and of the key admits of the arranging of a plurality of locking pins, whose rows then pass out radially from the key guide.

The design of the barrel lock as per invention is fully explained below with reference to the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the lock with key inserted in the closed position, and

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the lock with key inserted in the opening position.

The lock includes two cylinders 1, 2 relatively rotatable within each other, of which the inner cylinder 2 is held by a flange 3 in a recess turned in the face of the outer cylinder 1. The front surface of the two cylinders is covered by an annular disk 4 held by jacket S surrounding the outer cylinder 1. The bore of the disc 4 has a recess 7 turned on the inner side, to which a groove 8 leads, while the inner cylinder 2 has a groove 9 starting from its bore and lying preferably in the same plane as the groove 8.

The two cylinders 1, 2 are provided with bores 10, 12 arranged radially one behind the other in several radial planes, said bores registering with each other in the two cylinders and receive the locking pins 11a, 11b. The bores 12 of the inner cylinder 2 taper towards its inner wall, and the locking pins guided therein are pointed in the shape of truncated cones so as to be held, by springs 13 loading the pins 11a, in a position terminating with the inner wall of cylinder 2. The locking pins 11a are of different lengths, while the pins 11a may have the same length. The dividing is, however, arranged in such a way that in the closed position all pins 11a extend across the contact surfaces between the cylinders 1, 2 and thus interlock the two cylinders. Therefore, for opening the lock, all locking pins 11a, 11b must be simultaneously moved outwards so far that the divisions in the pins 11a, 11b register with the contact surfaces of the cylinders 1, 2. The length of the pins 11n is preferably so chosen that in this opening position they do not rest against the jacket 5, but end at different distances therefrom.

The key consists of a tubular member 14 fitted with a holding plate 30 and has a concentric rod 16 carried by a crosspiece 15. Axially movable to some extent, but non-rotatably guided in the tubular member 14 is a sleeve 17 enclosing the rod 16. Arranged between the crosspiece 15 and a guide 18 for the rod 16 in sleeve 17 is a spring 19 adapted to keep the said sleeve in an advanced position with respect to the tubular piece 14 and hence with respect to the rod. In this position the end of the rod 16 is ush with an end plug 20 of the sleeve 17. The latter carries a projection or nose 21 which, upon introduction of sleeve 17, enters the groove 9 of the inner cylinder 2 and thereby determines the depth to which the key is insertable and the normal position of the sleeve 17 with relation to the inner cylinder 2.

The sleeve 17 is provided with bores 22 which in number and arrangement correspond to those of the locking pins 11a, 11b, registering with the locking pins 11b in the aoredescribed inserted position. In said bores 22 control pins 23 are guided which rest with their heads 24 on the rod 16, being held in this position by springs 25. The rod is provided for each control pin 23 with a curved guiding 26 so dimensioned that, in the pushed-out position of the rod with respect to the sleeve 17, the ends of all control pins 23 terminate ush with the periphery of the sleeve 17. In this normal position the key has accordingly an absolutely smooth circular shape.

With the key in the aforedescribed normal position, as soon as a further push-in pressure is exerted on the key handle or handle plate 30, the tubular member ,'14 with rod 16 is displaced towards the sleeve 17 against the action of spring 19. Incidentally the control pins 23 run up on suitably shaped curve tracks 26 of the rod 16 and are pushed radially outwards. The curve tracks 26 are of such dimensions that the locking pin 11b iniluenced by each control pin 23 is raised just so far that the dividing spaces in all locking pins 11a, 11b lie exactly in the plane of the contact surfaces of the two cylinders 1, 2.

The tubular member 14 carries a nose 27 which, when lthe pressing-in movement occurs, enters through the groove 8 of ring 4 into the turned recess 7. In this position the key is coupled to the inner cylinder 2 by the control pins 23 and can thus be turned along with cylinder to open the lock. Thereby the nose 27 engages the recess 7 so that it is not necessary to maintain the inserting pressure by hand when turning the key.

When the key is returned to normal, it can be withdrawn, whereby the cylinders 1, 2 are again interlocked and the control pins 23 drawn into the sleeve 17.

All par-ts of the barrel lock and of the key may be made of hardened steel to protect them from damage or attack by means of drills or other tools. Since the number of locking pins in the separate rows and the number of the diierent rows can be kept at will within the limits of the size of the lock, and since further the length of all locking pins 11a may differ one from the other, there is a far greater possibility of combinations than in any-.

one ofthe conventional barrel locks.

Even if, for the sake of clearness in illustrating, the control curves 26 of the rod merge into the same diameter of rod in the drawing, the diameters may also be varied for each control pin, and also the pins of the dierent rows need not lie in the same sectional planes. It is moreover not necessary for the pins to maintain a denite grouping of rows in radial planes, as they may be distributed in any desired arrangement over the cylinders and sleeve 17.

What we claim is:

1. A barrel lock comprising two cylinders concentrically mounted for relative rotation one within the other and having two part locking pins arranged radially in pairs in bores in the cylinders and in at least one radially arranged row, and a key comprising a sleeve having a rod axially movable therein and a plurality of control pins radially movable through bores in the sleeve with a con trol pin for each of the pairs of locking pins, said rod having cam surfaces spaced intermittently by normal surfaces so that when the control pins are in Contact with the cam surfaces the key may be removed out of the inner cylinder with the cylinders in locked position and when the normal surfaces are in contact with the control pins the latter actuate the locking pins whereby the latter are adjusted in the bores in the cylinders so that the locking pins will unlock lthe cylinders and rotation of the key will permit rotation of the inner cylinder.

2. A barrel lock according to claim 1, in which a tubular member is provided tting over the sleeve and to which the rod is secured.

3. A barrel lock according to claim l., in which a tubular member is provided itting over the sleeve and to which the rod is secured, and in which a compression spring is provided around the rod bearing at one end against the tubular member and the other end against the sleeve.

4. A barrel lock according to claim 1, in which the inner cylinder is provided with an end groove and a nose portion is provided on the sleeve so that in the unlocked position of the parts the key will have direct contact with the inner sleeve to rotate the latter by contact of the nose portion in the end groove.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 616,751 Vedder et al Dec. 27, 1898 1,020,208 Laughlin Mar. 12, 1912 1,382,826 Dove June 28, 1921 1,735,868 Klingel Nov. 19, 1929 2,038,677 Recht et al Apr. 28, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 29,137 Great Britain 1911 

